The King attends the BALTEX conference

The King is welcomed by Lena Häll Eriksson, Director General of the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), to the opening of the 7th Study Conference on BALTEX and the launch of the new research programme Baltic Earth. Photo: Karl Nilsson/SMHI

On Monday 10 June, The King attended the 7th Study Conference on BALTEX (the Baltic Sea Experiment), which was held at the Strand Hotel in Borgholm.

The King was welcomed to the conference by Lena Häll Eriksson, Director General of the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, and Professor Anders Omstedt from the Department of Earth Sciences (Oceanography) at the University of Gothenburg. The 7th Study Conference on BALTEX summarises 20 years of multidisciplinary research into the Baltic Sea basin, and presents perspectives for future research. Joakim Langner, Chairman of the 7th Study Conference on BALTEX, gave a welcoming address, after which the following talks were delivered: BALTEX — 20 years of international and interdisciplinary research for the Baltic Sea region By Professor Anders Omstedt from the Department of Earth Sciences (Oceanography) at the University of Gothenburg Bringing together the East and West By Sirje Keevallik from the Marine Systems Institute Tallinn in Estonia Challenges for the Baltic Sea region from the HELCOM perspective By Mikhail Durkin from the Helsinki Commission in Finland Climate change in the Baltic Sea region — The BACC Assessment By Hans von Storch from Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Centre for Materials and Coastal Research in Germany The new BALTEX research programme, Baltic Earth, was then presented.

After The King had been given a presentation of current research in SMHI's GeoDome, Silke Köppen from the International BALTEX Secretariat presented him with a book about the Baltic Sea. Others, from left: Patric Källström from Visualization Center C in Norrköping, Helén Andersson, a researcher in oceanography at SMHI, and Anders Omstedt, Professor of Oceanography at the University of Gothenburg. Photo: Karl Nilsson/SMHI

After lunch, the GeoDome concept was presented by SMHI's Helen Andersson. In the dome, the "Baltic Vision" visualisation, which focuses on facts relating to the marine environment and on different future scenarios, was shown. This points out the effects of how the combination of a changed climate and eutrophication could be affected by reductions in emissions.

About BALTEX

BALTEX is an environmental sciences research network, with a focus on the Baltic Sea basin. Key research fields relate to the water and energy cycle, climate variations and climate changes.